The Island of Ortigia, by Salvatore Difalco

 

During the Gigantomachy depicted in the frieze on the Pergamon Altar
Asteria stands with Titan mother Phoebe against the Giants. 

Zeus as eagle lusted after Asteria
who in turn transformed into a quail. 

The ortux thus flung herself into the Aegean.
It was there she metamorphosed into an island. 

Ortux equals quail. Asteria equals Delos
equals Ortigia or Ortygia. 

Delos came first in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo.
or is that apocryphal? If so 

why go to such lengths?
On the Island of Ortigia 

in modern day Siracusa or Syracuse,
Rosalia, a Sicilian widow, washes dishes 

by a window overlooking the piazza.
Is she sad? Is she full of yearning? 

The sad thing is, there are no eagles in the piazza.
There are no eagles on the Island of Ortigia.

 

 

Sicilian Canadian poet and author Salvatore Difalco currently lives in Toronto, Canada.